


Grey Ghost

by Sephypsycologist



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bittybones (Undertale), Bitty Gaster - Freeform, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-10
Updated: 2018-12-10
Packaged: 2019-09-15 22:20:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,806
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16941777
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sephypsycologist/pseuds/Sephypsycologist
Summary: You adopt a rescued Gaster bitty from an illegal lab. He's got a lot of baggage, so he needs you more than he'll admit. (based on the Ugaka Gaster from Zarla, and thus also inspired by Handplates)





	1. beginnings

You came into the shop to look at the rescues. Bitties need people, especially after they’ve been mistreated or abandoned.

The owner put her wing around your shoulder and smiled, leading you to the back of the store, “I can feel your soul reaching out for them already. Come on.”

With her soft warm feathers against you, you feel encouraged. You were doing the right thing, and you hoped your new friend would be happy with you.

The rescues were all in one tank, not ready yet to be separated after finally being together. Well…you felt your heart sink as you noticed the gulf between the ragged bitties and the single Gaster bitty in the back, who had on a while collar over his black clothes. He seemed to be blind in one eye, keeping it closed, and he was a pre-core model, too, so his face was unmarked. He gave you only a cursory glance before returning to his staring at the wall of the tank.

“Well…don’t be discouraged but…he hasn’t said a word to anyone. The others won’t go near him,” The owner’s voice was soft and warning, “Gasters of his model aren’t known for being easily friendly but…I have no idea what they all went through except they were rescued from a lab.”

“If no one else will share themselves with him, I’ll be the first,” You state clearly. You aren’t going to leave him alone, especially if he’s alone among others. That’s the worst feeling in the world…you would know.

“If you’re sure, miss brave soul,” she chuckles softly, “I have a feeling he needs you more than he knows. Can’t you feel how closed off he is?”

You can. Even being a brave soul, you’ve felt when you connected with others, even tenuously. But reaching for the reticent bitty, who is shocked at your touch as the store owner hands him to you, is like hitting a brick wall. No bitty you’ve ever met before has been so cold and distant. It can’t be good for him.

Gaster sits in your hands as Dumpling, the owner, explains basic bitty care, and hands you a small sack. You’d filled out your paperwork mostly beforehand, when she’d known she was getting these rescues, but now she asked, “So, what shall we name your new friend?”

He looked up at you, unimpressed and blank, then huffed and curled in on himself closer. You thought a moment, then responded, “How about Ghost? He’s quiet, and observant. Is that okay with you, G? I’ll call you Gaster if you don’t like it, till we can think of a better one.”

“It’s adequate,” He murmurs, not looking at either of you.

“Alright,” Dumpling writes it down, “Ghost it is. Be good to him, honey. Please.” You smile back at her as she gives you your receipt for the things you’d gotten for him; new clothes, some glasses just in case, a chair and table of his own, basic necessities.

Ghost does not react. He sighs once, but it seems that was just his breathing and nothing more.

\-----

You set him on the kitchen table when you get home. It’s just a little two person plastic blue table, but it’s what you have. He steps off your hand and stands with his arms crossed over his chest, aloof and not even paying attention to you as you set up his things. You’d prepared an area for a bitty in your house already, a little outpost on a table with a bedroom that can close itself off from the rest of the house. It has a closet with room to hang the three outfits you’d bought him (you’d let him pick out his own once you two had bonded more…or when he started to at least speak to you) and a nice bed with some dark blue sheets on it. The fourth wall was a screen of sorts, made from an old paper fan, that Ghost could pull across whenever he needed privacy.

“Well, Ghost, I’ve got your chair set into your room. Do you want to explore first? Or eat, maybe?” You attempt conversation.

“Food would be sufficient. I do not need to explore.” He hadn’t moved from his spot, just sitting there with his knees up to his chest and looking at you over his arms.

“Oh, um…okay. Any preferences?” you asked, wondering.

“No.”

You frown a bit, but just prepare yourself some apple slices and get a spoonful of peanut butter. You cut your human-sized slices in quarters, making around eight of them, then set the spoon into the apple bowl with the small pieces on his side and the big ones on yours. “feel free to dip the pieces in the peanut butter as you wish. I’m going to grab us some milk.”

He doesn’t answer, but you notice him munching on an apple slice when you return. A bitty-sized cup full of milk is placed on his side, and you start eating. You don’t double dip your slices as you usually would since you’re sharing with him, but Ghost doesn’t use the peanut butter at all. He just quietly eats his slices and stares at the area you’ve built him.

“I suppose we’ll be sharing bathing facilities?” he finally comments.

“Oh, um, no, I have a bitty tub in the bathroom sink. I wouldn’t force you to…um….share? with me?” You honestly don’t want to be naked around your new roomie if he doesn’t feel comfortable with that level of openness.

“Oh. Noted.” He goes back to silence for a while.

Well, at least he’s talking.

\----

You ask him what he’d like to do once you’re done eating. 

“I’d prefer going to my cage now, if that’s alright,” he responds automatically, no emotion.

It startles you, “Ghost, you aren’t going to a cage ever again.”

“Hm? Oh,” His browbones knit together in confusion, “Then where will I be staying?”

“Here?” You would have thought he’d realized the set up was for him with how he’d been staring.

Surprise goes over his face, brow bones up and good eye wide. “I….I assumed your other bitties were using that.”

“I don’t have any other bitties, Ghost,” You smile softly, “It’s just me and you.”

“Well, I suppose that’s better for them then.” He stands up and walks to the end of the table, hopping off to land on the carpet without blinking.

“Ghost, I would have carried you,” his resistance to you is concerning.

“It’s easier on both of us this way. No need for false affectations,” he easily climbs up the leg of the side table and swings himself up to the bedroom. He’s not as lankey as a Papyrus, but he’s more thin boned than a Sans. You think he’s probably the most like an actual human skeleton, but you don’t get much chance to observe him before he slides the screen closed. You’ll have to look up “affectations” now.

\--

It takes a few days before Ghost starts acting like you aren’t just something to be studied.

“Human, we’ve been together for quite some time now. When are you going to stop this…domestic act?” He seems annoyed.

“I don’t understand?” You tilt your head. You’ve done nothing but treat him kindly since he came, asking if he’s comfortable, if he wants something, if there’s anything you can do for him. He always answers in short, clipped responses.

“You are a human,” He states flatly, “Humans are notoriously cold toward m-“ He stops himself, “Toward bitties. If I am your only subject, naturally you’ll want to observe me in a variety of situations. So I’m confused as to your purpose continuing this….charade of a symbiotic relationship.”

You sigh and put down the dishes you were washing, “You think I’m just acting like I care?”

“Of course. Don’t take me for a fool,” Ghost replies, scoffing at your expression.

“I don’t think you’re foolish, Ghost. But I’m not pretending. I brought you home so we could be friends,” your voice is quiet and hurt. Did he think you would abuse him like the scientists had?

He just looks at you in confusion, then curls in on himself.

You’re worried now.

\---

Reading up on his type of bitty, you find out they enjoy puzzles and scientific study. You quickly dig out your old Rubik’s cube, as it’s the only tactile puzzle you have on hand.

“Ghost?” You peek into the living room, where he tends to say.

He looks up but doesn’t otherwise acknowledge you.

“I have something for you, since I think you’d probably like puzzles,” you feel your soul ease when he perks up. 

“Alright, I’ll accept it,” He stands and looks up at you through the glasses he’d put on. It helps him apparently, and you’re glad.

You set the cube down in front of him and watch as he actively searches around it. “Try to match each color until the sides are all the same color.”

“It seems simple enough,” he says, and you watch him as he carefully turns the sides of the cube. You personally had never solved the cube, and were too stubborn to look up solutions. Even without that option, Ghost has already done more than you’ve ever managed.

You start doing some minor things in the kitchen, cleaning and such, but it’s barely five minutes before you hear, “I’ve done your task, human.”

Turning, you see Ghost standing by the completed cube.

“That…wow, Ghost, that’s brilliant!” You’re genuinely impressed, and he seems startled by your enthusiasm.

“You…haven’t done it yourself, have you?” He slowly smirks and adjusts his glasses. “I suppose I couldn’t expect every human I met to be an intellectual powerhouse.”

\--

Ghost is much more at ease now that he sees you as…less intelligent than himself. Yes, it’s embarrassing, but you’re happier since he’s happier.

He reacts strangely to your affections, though. You’ve figured out he’s interested in science to an extreme degree (strange since he was rescued from a lab) so you’ve gotten him some bitty-sized books on chemistry, astronomy, physics, and biology. He reads through them in a matter of days and seems bored.

“Though I do appreciate the effort, those books were child’s play. I’m a bit too advanced for ‘bitty’ science.” He seemed offended at the books level.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” You frown, attempting to pet him.

His reaction stops you instantly. Ghost throws his hands up and flinches, “Don’t!”

Slowly lowering your hand, you frown worriedly. His breathing is harsh, and you hear his bones rattling.

“Ghost?”

“I…” he seems to get a hold of himself, literally gripping the grey sweater he’d put on this morning tightly over the sternum, “I’d prefer if you didn’t touch me, human. Or at least warn me if you’re going to anyway.”

You suddenly realize he’s hiding his trauma from you, just as he is hiding his actual opinions by not speaking. “Okay, Ghost. Sorry I startled you.”

You do everything in your power not to do that again.

\--

Ghost has started commenting on your behavior.

“Do you realize how unhealthy it is to eat the way you do?” He’s standing on the windowsill, looking over the garden outside.

You say you can’t help it, that you eat what you can afford.

“Why not move to a smaller home then?” Genuine confusion; you always find that expression adorable.

Because there are no smaller homes this close to your work and that allow bitties.

“Then why adopt me at all?” and the natural follow up, exasperation.

Because he needed you.

“I didn’t.” That got you confused and worried.

You blink, “But Ghost you were alone…”

“I’ve always been alone. It was not a new state to me,” he shrugs and fiddles with his sleeves. He’s wearing the little lab coat you got when you bought him an actual chemistry set and a bitty-sized keyboard that plugged into your laptop. He never spends the day without it, strangely.

“I accept that, but I want to show you what it’s like to be cared for.”

“I don’t need caring for. I am an independent adult; I can care for myself,” he’s glaring out the window. “I’m not a child, nor am I an invalid. I am merely small.”

“That’s not what I meant, Ghost.” You get up from the table and cross slowly. “I’m going to pick you up now. Is that okay?”

“No, it is not.” He gritted his teeth, and you feel the magic crackling around him. “If you’re trying to say you have affection for me, then correct your thinking. I am neither asking for, nor encouraging that avenue. There are much better targets for your misguided kindness.”

You’re frozen, unsure what to do as he grips his arms tightly around himself.

“I…You have no idea who you took in. And if you did, you wouldn’t have,” He hisses softly before making a bee line for his room. He slams the screen across the open wall and turns off the small light inside.

You don’t see him for the rest of the evening.


	2. two steps forward and one back

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ghost has walls. You're working on breaking them.

You treat him no differently the next morning. You get together some coffee (for him, you don’t drink it) and some small pieces of your bacon and egg from your plate.

For once, though, you hear him murmur, “Thank you,” as you do. It’s soft, and he sounds emotionally compromised, but you smile at him anyway.

“You’re always welcome, Ghost,” You keep your tone warm and sweet, because honestly, you can almost feel the sadness dripping off him.

“Even after my…behavior? All of it?” he lifts a brow bone as he sips his coffee.

“You’re hurting, somehow, Ghost. I don’t expect you to trust me or explain, not right now, maybe not ever.” His shoulders sink, but you continue, “I just want you to know I don’t blame you for feeling angry, or anything else. I’m just here to help you and to hopefully give you some company, so long as you’ll have me.”

“I…see.” He sighs and finally begins picking at his breakfast. “I don’t pretend to understand but…you’re very determined to see this experiment through. I’ll….attempt to cooperate for now.”

“That’s fine with me, Ghost,” You respond, eating slowly so your movements don’t spook him. You’ve never felt this before, but there’s a very faint, tenuous connection now with him. Your soul is doing the reaching, but you’ve touched something. That’s progress enough.

You both have a companionable silence for the rest of breakfast.

 

Ghost is doing amazing things with the chemistry set you got him.

He combines the chemicals with his magic to make things you never dreamed possible with so little materials. He’s managed to construct several new beakers and flasks for himself with a bit of sand and magic manipulation of a lighter (you collect lighters, though you don’t even smoke. You just like the design of them). You spend a lot of time just watching him tinker with the set, or with some of the little devices you’ve given him to use as ‘parts’. You have several non-functional mice from your computer, an old laptop that is well past its usefulness, and some mechanical toys you aren’t fond of anymore, so they’re his now.

You ask what he’s building one day while he’s working. “It’s too complex *mmgh* to explain right now. But *huff* it will make both our lives much simpler.” He’s using a wrench to attach some pieces together. His coat is folded neatly over his chair, and he’s wearing the rags he came to you in. You’d forgotten to throw them out, in fact, but now you thought he might appreciate your gifts of clothes enough to not use them to work. How sweet.

Ghost grumbles softly as he works, and you do what you can to help him. “Human, would you hold this please?” And you do, until he tells you to let go.

His machine is interesting, and the things he manages to make with his chemistry set and the few materials you can give him are improving it amazingly. But…the thing you notice most is his increasing amount of expression. He furrows his brows, occasionally sticks his grey magic tongue out while working, smiles at a job well done. You treasure Ghost’s rare smiles.

Strangely, he’s managed to remove the white collar that had remained around his neck until…well, until about three weeks back, just before his outburst. Ghost had refused to let you touch it, but now it seems he’s rid himself of it. And all for the better. You can see some bruised marks on his vertebrae from an area around the underside of the collar. He pulls his sweater up when he finds you looking.

“Your collar is gone.” You smile at him.

“Yes, well…I suppose I’ve accepted that you aren’t going to send me back just now. No point in pleasing old owners who aren’t even present,” he doesn’t look at you, but rubs his sternum deeply, as if uncomfortable. His expression is likewise tense, the deep circles under his sockets drawing upward as he grimaced.

“They made you wear it?” you ask gently, not sure if this counts as prying.

“No.” He replies, clutching the fabric over his chest till his hands shake, “I chose to.”

You’re confused, but Ghost is looking almost sick with the negative emotions coming from the topic. So, of course, you drop the subject.

He wears turtlenecks more now.

 

Ghost is watching you cook one night when he notices something. “What is that you’re sprinkling in there?”

You stop and look at the bottle in your hand. It’s something you picked up at the shop the last time you went to pick him up some more clothes (since he seems dead set on just wearing shades of grey no matter how many colors you give him). “Um, Dumpling said it was magic supplements? As little as you like me touching you, I was worried I wasn’t able to connect with you enough to give you my soul energy so….I wanted to make sure you got enough to be healthy.”

Truly, you WERE very worried. That tenuous connection you’d felt that night had remained, but barely improved. And you knew that if you stopped consciously attempting to reach for it, for him, it would fade away. Your little skeleton was so distant still, even after so long.

He seemed alarmed, then regretful, his undamaged socket going from a wide stare to a narrowed glance away in moments. “I….forget at times that we….we bitties need to feel connected to live properly. Um…thank you, for your patience with me.”

Making a noncommittal noise, you nod and finish up the food. And then you gasp as you see plates float past you.

“What?” Ghost looks at you as he sets the table for the both of you, “Are you surprised? You know I can use magic.”

“Yes, but…” you’re still in awe a bit, “you don’t usually do it unless it’s necessary.”

“Well,” his voice is lax with fatigue, though whether physical or emotional you aren’t sure, “I decided being helpful is something that is necessary, after all.”

“Um, I want to hug you for that, but I don’t want to push,” you state, your smile cautious.

He sighs and rolls his eyes (how does he do that without eye lights?) but nods, “Fine. Just don’t squeeze me too tightly.”

You gently pick him up and cuddle him against your face, “I love you, Ghost.”

He freezes, tense against you, then replies, “I’m sure you think you do.”

It hurts, but it’s better than an outright no.

 

Ghost’s machine turns out to be a magical generator of some sort. By plugging it into your new laptop with a USB, it runs faster and more efficiently than ever. It also seemed to be doing something of its own, but you tried not to worry.

The whole house ran off it, actually, and you were amazed at what you saved. Sure, it made some very strange channels appear on your television (who was Mettaton? And why did he need three channels to himself?) and your food tingled in your mouth from the magic flames on the stove, but it was nice not to have to pay so much for bills.

You begin to notice him fidgeting, and sighing. Maybe…he was lonely?

“Ghost, what would you think about us getting another bitty?” you ask.

He hums softly as he’s working on another machine, this one much smaller than the generator (which had become self-sustaining surprisingly; Ghost said something about internal tornados needing just a small jolt to get started). “If you’re lonely, then of course. I realize I’m not the ideal companion for someone more in tune with their emotions.”

“Oh, but…” you frown, “Ghost, I’m happy with just us. You’d been fidgety and sighing so….I thought YOU were lonesome.”

He looks up, a bit of oil smudged on his cheek, “That’s absurd. I have my work, I have you, I have food, nothing else is required for my survival or sanity and thus everything else is extraneous.”

“Can I wipe your face off before we continue?” You’re smiling at him with what you’re sure is an amazing amount of glee, and Ghost sighs, grabbing a rag and wiping his face himself.

“Continue.”

You nod, “Then can I know why you’re fidgeting?”

He looks embarrassed, frowning and looking away with a light gray blush, “I hate to admit it, but I’m missing the nicotine. My…former residence tended to smoke while working since they weren’t handling chemicals. I suppose I’ve become a bit dependent on the stuff, despite never getting hold of a cigarette myself.”

That would explain a lot about why he was always so grumpy. Withdrawal was not a painless process.

“Don’t give me that look,” he scolded softly, putting down his tools for the day, “I don’t need it, and it would be infinitely better for me to be without it, even though I have no lungs to poison. It will just take time.”

“Can I hold you, Ghost? When you feel you’re needing something?” You venture, hopeful.

“I’d prefer to tough it out, if it’s all the same to you,” the dismissal was clear.

You nodded, respecting his boundaries as always. At least he told you the truth.

“Then, with that in mind, how do you feel about another bitty? In all reality?” You notice yourself picking up some of his vocabulary and speech patterns lately. It makes you happy.  
“As I said, if you feel the need for companionship more to your tastes. So long as they do not interfere in my work or intrude on my privacy, I will be fine,” you watched his sockets. He was purposefully not looking at you while he cleaned his hands of grime from working. He didn’t want anyone else around.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” you finish. You won’t close out the idea of a companion for him, but he needs to be more open with just the two of you first.

 

You wake up one night, not knowing what was wrong. Something was making your chest ache and you got up with a huff of annoyance to take something for it. Hopefully that and a trip to the bathroom would be enough to alleviate any discomfort and let you sleep. It was three in the morning, you notice by the blaring red numbers on your bedside clock.

You go into the living room and freeze. There’s a bright purple glow coming from Ghost’s room, and there’s blue magic going haywire around your home. Items are floating and flinging themselves around. You dodge a footstool and pull open the screen. 

Ghost is curled up in his bed, hands on his head, shaking and whimpering. You can tell his eyes are glowing even without his sockets open, the light leaking through. You had to stop this, gently shaking him. “Ghost. Ghost, wake up. You’re having a nightmare.”

He jolts upright and falls out of bed, panting and scrambling away. “Don’t!”

You stay still as the floating objects around the room crash to the floor and Ghost’s eyes lose the deep purple glow. You now realize the pain in your chest has let up, and you feel the connection between the two of you pulling hard. You woke up because he needed you.

“I….” he’s looking at the mess around the room and grimacing, clutching his chest. You feel a pang through the bond, the thread between you having grown stronger and more solid. “I had hoped you wouldn’t see me like that.”

“Ghost, you’re hurting.” You’re extremely concerned. If you can feel the pain, it’s in his soul. “I can feel it, please…talk to me.”

“It’s not something talking can heal, my dear,” Ghost refused to look at you.

“Then what can?”

“Nothing.” He gets up and brushes himself off, “Now go back to sleep. It’s too early in the morning for this.”

“I will not,” you aren’t letting him get away from you right now, “Ghost, your soul is hurting. Let me see.”

His functioning socket goes wide and white with panic….but he slumps and sits on his bed, “Fine. I suppose since you’re feeding it your energy, you deserve to see it, private though it ought to be. You are aware what a monster’s soul ought to look like, yes?”

You nod. There was a diagram on some of your pamphlets from the shop.

“Well…then let’s get it over with.” He looked uncomfortable for a moment as he put his hands to his chest, then drew it out with a white upside-down heart in his hand. It was small, as he was, but there was a massive crack down the center, and another radiating off to one side. “Well…now you know.”

You feel yourself start to cry only after Ghost’s expression changes from annoyance to panic, “What is wrong with you? You’re weeping.”

The water is pouring down your face and you can barely choke out a response, “You….your soul is cracked. I’m so sorry!”

“It wasn’t you!” he yelps, quickly pressing his soul back into his chest and rushing to the edge of the table. “I was broken long before you came.” Ghost reaches hesitantly for your fingers that are clutching the edge of the table, then holds on tightly. “I did this to myself, human. Please, don’t blame yourself for my mistakes.”

There is a small surge from your bond, and it is more warm than anything you’ve felt. And you immediately try to return it, with everything you have. You don’t care what he’s done that hurt him so, or what terrible secrets he tries so hard to hide. You love Ghost, with all your soul.

He gasps and clings tighter to your hand as it wraps around him gently, and begins to shake, “Human please….don’t. You…you shouldn’t care for me. You can’t. I don’t….I have dust on my hands, human, please….don’t love me.”

“It’s too late,” You choke, leaning down and kissing his skull as you feel his own tears dropping onto your skin in tingling pinpricks. “I already do.”

His fear is palpable, but you just hold him, murmuring your unconditional love. He can explain later. Now, he just has to accept what is.


	3. Revelations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What has Ghost been avoiding telling you?

You don’t talk about that night for a while, but it’s more for Ghost’s sake than your own.

You want to talk to him, but every time he thinks the subject is about to change from his current projects or your inane daily events, a twinge of fear surges across your bond. So instead, you keep reaching with all your love, and he returns the gesture with all his guilt and self loathing.

“Ghost, what exactly are you doing with that Tamagotchi?” you had found the battered old toy in a thrift shop and were surprised when it still worked. You’d cleared the game data and given it to Ghost, assuming he’d use it for parts.

Instead, he was playing it.

“I’m attempting to recreate our dynamics, but every time I treat the ‘pet’ as you treat me, it instead responds with further affection and growth. I don’t understand. Though I suppose it’s a limited AI issue that doesn’t put logic and data collection into account.” His frustration is comical, but you know how to answer his problem.

“Ghost, yes, it’s a programming issue since Tamagotchi are very simple creatures, but it’s also because that little pet has known nothing besides you treating it kindly. How could it be suspicious of you if you’ve never done anything bad to it?”

He turns to you with wide sockets, “Human, you’re brilliant. Now I wish I could have several more of these to-“ Ghost’s skull goes from soft grey to stark white as he stops himself mid sentence.

“Ghost?” you question, not liking the sudden blankness over your bond. “What’s wrong?”

“N-nothing. It’s nothing, human.” He turns sharply and takes it to his work bench. “It’s served its purpose. I’ll take the machine apart later.”

Throwing himself into his work, you can feel his frustration and anger….at himself. It makes you sad to see him like this and more than ever you feel that he needs someone his size to relate to. But he just wasn’t ready.

He never actually touched the Tamagotchi again.

\--

You wake up in the night again, but you don’t have to get up to find Ghost this time. He’s shaking, standing on your bedside table with drips of overwrought magic slipping down his skull. “I’m…I’m sorry to wake you. I’ll just go…away.”

“Ghost, no. Come here.” You offer your hand, and he stumbles forward, letting you feel how very warm his tiny body is. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“No. Not yet.” He’s laying flat against your hand, and you shift him so he’s on the pillow with your hand as a cover. The fact the ‘yet’ was there made you smile.

“Alright. Just when you’re ready, Ghost. I love you,” you coo to him, almost asleep already from the comfort of having him right beside you, where you can help him instantly.

“I know.” His low voice is quiet and still uncertain, “goodnight, human.”

\--

Ghost has insisted he come out with you today. “As much as it is….difficult for me, I think it best I accompany you on your outing,” he’d huffed as you looked for your wallet.  
Of course you were overjoyed that he wanted to come, and even as you felt his anxiety, you made sure to give him encouraging smiles.

The store was a lovely opportunity to see how he reacted to others in a safe way, and you were pleasantly surprised by his reactions. Yes, he was very tense and held tightly to your shirt, but when a woman you passed came back your way and asked, “Oooh, I’ve never seen such a handsome bitty! Where did you get him?”

Ghost answered her. “I was rescued from an unfortunate situation, madam. I was quite lucky to find a home.”

The woman chuckled and smiled, “Ah, a man with an opinion, I see. Well, I’m glad you’re happy now, dearie. And you take care of him, honey!”

Though, as she left, he muttered, “Impudent human. I can answer questions perfectly well on my own.”

“Ghost, she’s old. The oldies have a lot of trouble not treating everyone like a small child,” you gently correct, even if his put out expression is adorable.

“Humans are baffling, truly,” he stated.

You also saw some other bitties on your trip, and Ghost was surprisingly calm. There was merely a passing curiosity that you knew Ghost gave toward everyone, no spike of anxiety or interest. They would wave at Ghost, who would give them a curt nod and nothing more, but you didn’t expect him to be social.

Not your little bitty, no. He was reticent as always till you reached the bakery.

“Wh-what are…those?” Ghost perked up and looked intently at the cupcakes in the bakery case.

“Cupcakes. Would you like one, Ghost?” the idea of your serious science skeleton wanting a cupcake was so sweet.

“I….I would, yes. I’ve only ever seen one before. There are so many here.” His eye lights were bright as he looked over the selection. “I don’t know what would be best.”

“How about we choose one we can split, since they’re so large?” You suggest, and he nods.

“Reasonable, yes. I’ve never eaten any before, so choose one you like and I’ll suffice with that.”

Happily, you get a poppy-lemon cupcake with strawberry icing and place the box in the cart carefully before continuing your shopping. Ghost decides it’s his job to guard the treat, since he instantly scrambles down and begins examining the cupcake from the outside of the plastic.

“What are those black specks?” he asks, soft enough he’s probably talking to himself.

“Those are poppy seeds. They taste good, especially with lemon, so humans use them in baking.” Ghost nods and thinks for a moment.

He then looks very seriously at you, “Aren’t they also used in the manufacture of narcotics?”

You can’t help laughing, but nod, “Yes, but that’s a different strain of flower from the one we use in baking. At least I think so.”

“Ah, good.” He seemed to have more to say, but stopped himself and continued studying the cupcake for the remainder of your shopping trip.

\--

Once home, you sliced the cupcake in half and set the halves on plates. Ghost had gotten better about eating with you instead of ignoring meals in favor of work, and he seemed excited about trying this.

Looking up at you as you set the plates down, he asked, “What sort of occasions do humans normally consume cupcakes for? They seem very elaborate for an everyday food.”

You sigh and get a forkful of icing (since you always eat that first), “Well, mostly it’s parties of some kind. Birthdays, holidays, or special events, that kind of thing. But we do enjoy them every so often outside of that as a dessert.”

Ghost nodded, having been taking small pieces of the cake part as you talked. He seemed satisfied with that answer, and actually combined the cake and icing together now, seeming very pleased with his discovery.

\--

It seems you were a little wrong about the poppy seeds not having a soporific effect. At least on someone so small.

Ghost was sitting limply in your hand as he fell in and out of a light doze, which had been going on for about an hour. He was much more amiable in this state, currently holding your wrist as your thumb stroked down his back. “Human…?”

“Yes, Ghost?” you smiled down at him. You’d warn him about this in the future, but you’d enjoy this accidental sedation for the moment.

“You know, when I was with the scientists, they didn’t stroke me like you do.” He huffed a bit and pouted as he nuzzled the soft parts of your hand. “They made me work for them and only ever paid me in information. Rude.”

“You worked with the scientists?” You couldn’t help the question, even though you bit your tongue regretfully afterward. Pumping him for information while he was so out of it was wrong.

“Oh yes.” He hummed and kicked his legs idly, “They needed someone small enough to attach diodes and administer injections safely so the set up didn’t kill the subjects. That’s why the others were so afraid when I was in the tank with them. They’d accidentally been ‘rescued’ with one of their tormentors.”

You’d been afraid of this. Yes, the feeling of sleepy content over your bond was there, but even stupefied as he was, Ghost’s soul panged at his admission. And so did yours.

Mostly, you’d hoped his reactions were from being abused, and you had a feeling there was more to this story than he was telling right now, but….

“Well, Ghost, we all have made mistakes. So long as you improve yourself, and regret your actions, you’ve already begun making things right,” and honestly, he could have been an outright killer and you would have tried to comfort him. Because no matter what he’d done before, now he was your Ghost. He was your silly, analytical, coffee addicted companion, and he was your everything.

Tiny tears appeared in his sockets, and he seemed surprised at them, but Ghost sat up sluggishly and wiped them away with his sleeves, “Your sending a lot of worry, human….it hurts.”

“Oh, Ghost, I’m sorry.” You cup him close and kiss his skull, earning a weak, irritated sound and a soft push away. “It’s just a lot to take in, you know? Because it’s so hard to imagine you hurting anyone now.”

He was slowly coming out of the poppy-seed faze by now, and he seemed to realize what he might have let slip. “Now, certainly not. It’s….been a long time, since I’ve been able to…to separate myself from others.” Ghost begins to rattle and the tears return, “I….I can’t say how long but, but I swear I won’t….I couldn’t….b-but I did….h-human?”

Confusion and terror are pulsing across to your soul, and Ghost looks like he’s about to faint as he looks up at you. “You…You have every right to hate me now. I tried to warn you, I….I really did but you wouldn’t listen.”

He was sure you were about to disown him.

But instead you went back to stroking down his spine, feeling the shaking of the tiny bones under his sweater, “Ghost, honey….no matter what you have done, there’s a way back. And the longer you’re with me, the more I’ve seen that you are just as good, just as worthy of love as any other bitty. I chose you because you were alone. But you’ve helped ME feel less lonely at the same time. You’ve got so much capacity for love inside you,” You feel him break as he curls up in your hands, the drop from the poppy seeds combining with his realization of your continued support to make him unbearably nervous.

“LOVE is exactly my problem,” he groaned even though you didn’t understand what he meant by that. But that was fine. You weren’t leaving him, and you weren’t angry. But that hurt he could sense, that disbelief, was just as damaging despite it being from an innocent place.

He avoided talking for a long while after that.

\---

You were stopping by the bitty store on the way home. You’d left Ghost at home working on some sort of gadget while you went for groceries, but you just had to ask the shop owner some things.

“Yes, I knew that he’d been used by the scientists as an assistant, but that information would have hurt his chances of staying in a good home. I didn’t know till after you adopted him. And in general, it wasn’t something he could do much about, not with that emotion blocking collar.” The store owner seemed sad to find out Ghost had told you the truth.

“The collar did what?!” You gasped.

“Yes, a few of the other bitties had them as well, but they let them be removed easily. Ghost was the only one who refused to take his off.”

“Do you know how long he had it on?” You’re going to need to sit down.

“Here, let’s talk in the back.” The sad bird leads you into the clinic section of the shop and sits you down near a tank with two very young bitties inside. “Ghost was the first test subject for the emotion suppressant. The police at least told us that much after we badgered them. That’s when we found out more about Ghost’s situation, so I wasn’t lying to you when I said I didn’t know what they’d been through. At that time, I hadn’t been told.”

You nodded and sighed, rubbing your temples. “That explains why he was more receptive when he finally took it off.”

“Oh?” Dumpling seems excited, “So you got him to take it off? That’s wonderful! When I found out what it did, I was really worried if you’d be able to bond with him.”

You sighed and smiled, “He’s so much more open now. He makes gadgets with scrap tech and going to the store with me. He even eats with me now instead of holing up in his little house.”

The bird monster fluffed her feathers, “Oh, that’s wonderful! And if he finally told you about his past, that means he trusts you. He can heal now.”

“not like he deserves to.”

You turn to the tank and see one of the little bitties glaring at you.

“Brother!” the other child bitty gasps and puts his hand over the first one’s mouth. They seem to be a little Sans and Papyrus pair.

The Papyrus is pushed away as the Sans hisses, “Don’t! Did you forget what he did to us? To everyone?!”

“Brother, please,” there are tears in the Papyrus’ sockets. “You heard them. That collar made him unable to feel right.”

“i don’t care!”

“Boys!” Dumpling calls and they fall quiet, looking at her. “Please. I know you have a problem with Ghost, Sansy, but this is his owner, who loves him very much.”

“Is he alright? Does he miss us?” the Papyrus has his hands pressed to the glass, the cute kids’ sweater hanging loose around his bones like a dress.

“I….I’m really sorry, sweetheart, but I can’t say. He only just now told me about him being involved in the experiments,” you see the hurt in his posture slumping, but then he nods and smiles.

“Well! That’s just how he is. He doesn’t like to talk to people about himself.”

“bro, please…they don’t care about us anymore than he did,” the Sansy has his arms crossed over his own sweater-dress as he glares at you. “if they did, they’d have dusted him when-“

“BROTHER!”

“Sansy!”

The double whammy shuts his mouth, but there are frustrated tears in the child’s sockets. “why does he get to go to a nice home and we have to stay here?”

“Because, honey,” Dumpling coos as she stands up and goes to the tank, “You two are too young to go to a home without an adult bitty to help you out. Getting used to your powers, learning to clean your bones right, all of that needs someone bigger to help you. And until one of the other big bitties decide if they want to claim you, you’ll need to be taken care of.”

You watch the Papyrus as he rubs his hands, making you notice the dark marks of something having been scarred into the bones. He looks over at you and smiles, “But, we could go home with them. Ghost made us! He’s…he’s the one who took care of us until we got here! He could do it again!”

“bro, no. we’re good to be rid of him.” The Sansy holds his brother’s hand and pleads, “please stop trying to change someone who doesn’t deserve it!”

Dumpling sighs. “Papy, honey, your brother is right about you not going back to Ghost. While I know you care about him, he did some very bad things, and he did them not only to other people, but to you and your brother, too.”

The baby bones begins to cry, “I know that! I know he did bad things! But I also know that’s not what he wanted to do. Please, I just want to see him again! Even when he couldn’t feel, he still took care of us and let us stay together!” Sansy hugged his brother around the waist and began to shush him as Dumpling chirped sadly.

You ached for him. You knew Ghost would be averse to seeing the children, especially if he had a history with them, but this baby was sobbing and you were broken-hearted about it.

“Do you think it would do any good for any of them to see each other?” you ask. Ghost needed to face his past and move on, but…if he made these children….”what do they mean, made, also?”

Dumpling gives Papy a pat and whispers once she gets close, “Ghost oversaw their birth and the tests on them. They were almost entirely his own experiment on possible weaponization of bitty magic. He raised them from a baby-like state to this age, and even had them labeled as his.”

You nod, feeling your heart sink. No wonder Sansy hated Ghost.

“But I think it’s for the best if they don’t meet again. While Papy thinks things could be better, I know Sansy won’t accept it, and theirs was an abusive relationship no matter what.” Dumpling sighed, rubbing her elbows as she led you out, “and he’s irreparably damaged Sansy, too. He’s blind in one eye now, and apparently once broke Papy’s arm? I can’t advise for them to reunite.”

“I understand.” You do, really. Even if part of you is still hurting for the tiny sobs as Papy keeps murmuring soft pleas to see Ghost. “I don’t want to do anything to hurt them.”

“I know, dear,” Dumpling leads you out, and she says gently, “We’re thinking one of our naga pairs is going to adopt them when they talk it out. A Swap papyrus and a Horror one. They’re a very stable couple and I know they’ll take great care of the little ones.”

You smile and nod. Parents instead of a scientist. That seemed much nicer for those little dears.

“Is there anything else?” Dumpling can sense your unease, even though you’re trying to hide it.

“Ghost needs someone else around, for when I can’t be there with him. But knowing his history, I don’t know who could stand on even ground with him. Or if it’d even be good for him to have company.”

Nodding, the pink bird coos, “Of course. I’ll ask around and see if anyone here is interested in trying that out. All bitties do better with a companion their own size, if not a large family group. We’ll figure something out for Ghost.”

You nod, thank the kind monster, and head home.

You just want to hold Ghost right now and reassure him (and yourself) that he can get better.


End file.
